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British Food

Volume 456: debated on Wednesday 7 February 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of food served in buildings occupied by his Department was of British origin in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006. (111118)

Within the Department, contract catering services are only used at the Department's HQ in London, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) sites in Swansea, the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) in London and at the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) HQ in Bristol.

In the Department's headquarters in London it is the policy of our catering provider to source the majority of its products from within the UK, unless occasionally for reasons of supply and competitive pricing it is necessary to obtain products from outside the UK. Typically this means that 100 per cent. of meat and poultry is of British origin, along with the majority of dairy products, fruits and salad items and vegetables.

For the DVLA Swansea sites 85 per cent. of the items served were of British origin, broken down as follows:

100 per cent. for soft drinks;

70 per cent. for bakery products;

90 per cent. for dairy products;

100 per cent. for confectionery;

30 per cent. for fruit and salad items;

85 per cent. for vegetables;

100 per cent. for meat and poultry; and

100 per cent. for eggs.

For both London HQ and DVLA the 2005 and 2006 breakdown is broadly the same.

For the GCDA and VOSA the requested information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.